Before The Dawn
by MillionMilesAway00
Summary: Stacie Monroe has been on the run with her brother in-law, Jax. Leaving Virginia since the outbreak they are looking for their family back home in Cali. Yet, as they journey through death infested states, they stumble upon a group surviving just like them. Stacie comes face to face with someone who just may push her to her limits. Rated T, but will probably change to M. Daryl/OC
1. Family

Jax and Stacie finally made it to Atlanta. It had been 2 months of living hell traveling from Virginia to Georgia, but they made it.

Jax was currently pitching a tent while Stacie kept a look out for any walkers.

"We need to pick up our pace Stacie" Jax said, looking at his sister-in law.

Stacie put her gun down and looked at him.

"We ran through two states in the past two months. I think we're on a good pace  
Stacie replied back.

Jax continued to fix up camp.

Stacie checked their weapons. They were stocked well, considering they began their run from the CIA headquarters.

Jax and Stacie weren't exactly regular civilians. Stacie grew up in Georgia with a sister, Sarah, and her parents. They had family there, her mother's family. She had a cousin, Lori, who was like another older sister to her. When Stacie turned 17, she joined the army, and from there on she climbed the ranks. At the age of 25 she was promoted to sniper standing as she fought in wars over seas. She was one of the best and youngest the CIA had ever had. Jax grew up in the same town as her and began a relationship with her sister, Sarah. They had been inseparable, got married, and Sarah became pregnant at only 20 years of age. Jax joined the Navy, and made his way up to being a Navy Seal. At the time of the outbreak, both Jax and Stacie were in Virginia at the CIA headquarters. They were training when all hell broke loose. They got in touch with Sarah, who now lived in California with her daughter, and were planning on trekking it to California.

"We need to take shifts. We're out in the open" Stacie said to Jax who started a small fire.

Both of them sat around the fire and stared at it.

Stacie had taken so many survival training lessons, and even experienced the terrors of survival in Afghanistan and Iraq. But this was nothing compared to it. The dead were walking. She would have traded anything to be back fighting overseas again than stare at another walker.

"you still think they're okay?" Jax asked her, referring to his wife and daughter.

"Sarah's a lot stronger than me. I know they're okay. I'm more worried about us" Stacie said, looking around. The sun was gone, and night was dark.

"Maybe we should try looking for your family? We are in Georgia" Jax suggested.

"You said it before, we need to pick up our pace. We can't waste time, looking for people that might be dead" Stacie said with a cold tone.

Jax sighed and nodded and took the first shift, letting Stacie rest.

She couldn't rest. Stacie used to be a sweet girl, but in the past two months her heart had grown into stone. She became ruthless, and cold. No one could blame her though. Anyone would feel that way if they were fighting for their lives.

The following morning Jax and Stacie made the decision to head into the heart of Atlanta. It was dangerous, but they needed to find more supplies.

Stacie got dressed and packed up [Check out my Polyvore account: MillionMilesAway00]

Heading into town, Stacie lost track of how many walkers she killed. The city was infested far worse than any other ones she and Jax had walked through.

"There's an office building to your left Jax, we need to take cover in there" She said to him as they both walked back to back near the building.

Walking in, it was slightly dark.

"Footprints" Jax whispered, pointing at the ground.

Stacie knelt down and looked at them. They were fresh, made with blood and dirt.

"Walkers?" Stacie questioned, quietly.

Jax shook his head and pointed beyond her. On the ground lay dead walkers.

Someone had came in just before them, and could possibly be still in the building.

"keep your guard up. We're not alone" Jax said, as Stacie got up.

She had her glock in her hands, reading to fire as they both made their way through the building.

"This place has been sacked through, we gotta find another building" Jax said, as you guys walked down a corridor.

Stacie was about to reply, but she heard loud voices. Jax stopped and they looked at each other.

The voices came from a room to their left.

The kitchen.

"We shouldn't. Sounds like 5 of them in there. We're outnumbered" Stacie whispered to Jax.

"We've taken out more looters. Come on, let's see who's in there" Jax said.

Stacie was about to argue, but she heard the groaning of walkers in the distance behind her.

She nodded and they both, quietly entered the room and hid.

She counted 4 men. An Asian, an African American, and two Caucasian men.

She looked at Jax who pulled out his gun.

One of the men were angry and yelling at the others about something.

"I don't blame you! He's family I get that, I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel" One of the men said to the other. The voice sounded very familiar, but you couldn't recollect where you knew that voice from.

It was bothering you and something was wrong.

"Ready?" Jax, mouthed, to you.

Your attention shot back at Jax and you shook your head with wide eyes.

"What?!" Jax snapped, very quietly.

"Let's just go" Stacie mouthed back.

Jax looked angry and shook his head defiantly.

Stacie glared at him and put her gun back into the back of her pants, but in the process her elbow knocked over a vase at the edge of the table she was beside.

It fell and crashed, very loudly.

"Someone's here!" One of the guys shouted.

"Jesus, let's go!" Jax snapped at Stacie, grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the room.

A bullet whizzed past her.

They got to the end of the hall, and the footsteps of the men were not far.

However they were stuck. If they opened the door that led into the next corridor, they would be surrounded by walkers.

"We're going to have to take them" Jax said, pulling out his semi automatic.

"No, no, no! I think I know one of them" Stacie finally revealed.

Jax looked at her confused as the footsteps got louder.

Jax pulled Stacie behind a wall.

"Come out, with your hands up" The familiar voice shouted again.

"It's Lori's husband!" Stacie whispered to her brother in law

It took a moment for Jax to remember.

"Rick?" Jax whispered and Stacie nodded.

"Rick! Rick Grimes?" Stacie shouted from behind the wall.

There was a moment of silence.

"Ho-how do y-who are you?" His voice shouted.

Stacie tucked her gun away and began to reveal herself, but Jax pulled her back.

"Are you crazy?" Jax snapped.

"He won't hurt us. Put the gun away and follow my lead" Stacie said with confidence to Jax.

He sighed and did so.

They both slowly walked from their hiding place, now visible to the four men with guns pointed at them.

"Hands, let me see your hands!" Rick shouted. Stacie and Jax put their hands up as all four men approached them carefully.

"Have you been bitten?" The African American asked.

"No" Jax snapped as the African American and Asian kid inspected Stacie and Jax. One guy, one with a crossbow pointed straight at your head, stared at Stacie straight in the eye.

"How do you know my name?" Rick asked.

Jax looked at you and nodded.

"I'm surprised you don't remember. I'm Stacie, and that's Jax" Stacie said, putting her hands down as Jax did.

Rick slowly lowered his gun, as realization hit his face.

"Monroe?" Rick asked, as the African American and Asian guy looked at him confused.

The guy with the crossbow still had his weapon aimed at them and his eyes still glued on Stacie. It was making her nervous.

"In the flesh, we'd appreciate if you guys would calm down. We aren't a threat." Stacie said, referring to the crossbow man.

"Put it down Daryl, they're family" Rick said, putting his gun away.

Jax's shoulders relaxed as Rick came over and gave Stacie a short hug.

"How's Lori?" Stacie asked

"Fine, just found her" Rick replied

"And the little man? Carl?' Jax said, as he shook hands with Rick.

"Brave" Rick replied

"Sorry, to interrupt this reunion, but I think we're in a predicament here" The African American butted in.

"Guys, this is Stacie and Jax. They're family to me, and we can trust them" Rick said to his group.

"Are ya sure about that?" The guy with the crossbow asked.

"Hey man, we'll help" Jax countered.

"That's Daryl, he'll come around." Rick said

"I'm Glenn, glad to meet some living people" The young Asian kid said

The African American guy called himself T-Dog, and once introductions were out of the way, they explained what they were doing.

"How many guns do you got?" Jax asked Rick the 6 made their way into a secluded office room.

"Plenty, and we need it" Rick replied.

"Where is it?" Stacie asked

"The middle of the street, completely surrounded by walkers" T-Dog replied

"Anyone got a plan?" Jax asked

"I do" Glenn piped up.

He explained his idea about going in himself and retrieving the bags.

"You? Alone? That's stupid" Stacie retorted.

"You're not doing it alone" Rick backed up.

"Even I think it's a bad Idea and I don't like you much" Daryl said.

"It's a good idea! Just hear me out! If we got out there in a group, we're slow and will draw attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast" Glenn pointed out. He drew on the ground and showed everyone his game plan.

It did begin to make sense to you.

"Daryl and Stacie will come with me" Glenn said

"Why us?" Daryl asked, not liking that he had to be paired with someone he didn't know.

"Your crossbow is quieter than Rick's gun, and Stacie is small enough to move fast. So

while Daryl and Stacie cover me in the alley, I'll run up and grab the bag. Glenn said

"Where do you got the rest of us?" Jax asked.

"Jax, T-dog, and Rick, will be in the alley up here" Glenn said.

"Two blocks away, why?" Rick asked

"I might not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off and if that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Stacie. I'll go forward instead, all the way to the alley where you three will be." Glenn explained further.

"He's got both directions of cover. It's a smart move" Stacie said, giving some confidence to Glenn.

"Afterwards, we'll all meet back here" Glenn said

Everyone nodded.

"Hey kid, what did you do before all this? Daryl asked, knowing everyone was curious about how he had come up with such a stealthy plan.

"delivered pizzas, why?" He asked, making Stacie slightly chuckle before getting up to gear up.

The team split up. It was Stacie, Daryl and Glenn and the other team was Jax, Rick, and T-Dog.

"So, what did you do before all this?" Daryl asked Stacie as they made their way to a fire escape ladder.

"Does it really matter?" Stacie snapped, as she yanked the window open and crawled out.

She didn't really like Daryl the moment her eyes landed on him and the feeling was growing mutual.

Their egos were butting heads, which created tension.


	2. New Team

**Reviews would be much appreciated! I'm kind of new to fanfiction and would love to hear what you all think! I want to make this story good! :) For a visual aid about the main character check out my polyvore account: MillionMilesAway00 **

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Stacie crawled down the ladder into an alley way and Glenn and Daryl came after. She pulled out her silencer and carefully made her way down the alley with the two men behind her.

Daryl noticed the way she walked, and her stance was very military like. She was stealthy and knew what she was doing. He found himself thinking about it too long and mentally slapped himself.

Getting close enough to the street entrance you three hid behind a large trash dump. You saw walkers dragging along on the street.

" You've got some balls for a china man" Daryl said to Glenn, as he loaded his crossbow.

"I'm Korean" Glenn corrected before running down the street.

"Whatever" Daryl muttered.

His ignorance was annoying Stacie, but she kept her mouth shut and focused on the task.

Stacie and Daryl knelt in between two garbage dumps, waiting on Glenn.

That's when she heard faint footsteps. She nudged Daryl and pointed behind her. He heard it too.

Stacie used her fingers and counted from 3. Right when her last finger went down, both Stacie and Daryl jumped from their hiding spot, weapons drawn and pointed at a young kid.

"Whoa! Don't shoot me! What do you want?" The kid yelled.

"I'm looking for my brother he's hurt real bad. You've seen him?" Daryl suddenly fired, confusing you.

"Audayme!" The kid yelled, (help me!)

"Shut up!" Stacie snapped, stepping closer at him with her gun.

"you're going to bring the geeks down on us! Answer me!" Daryl snapped at him.

"Ayudame! Ayudame!" He kept yelling.

"Kid, you've got 3 seconds before I pop one right in between your eyes!" Stacie warned, her finger ready to pull the trigger.

He kept yelling, so she instead used the handle of her gun and butted him on the side of the head. He fell to the ground and Daryl tried to keep him quiet.

More footsteps suddenly came behind Stacie and Daryl. She turned around to see two Hispanic gangsters coming straight for them.

"Oh great, you brought your fucking boys with you" Stacie muttered getting up.

But they were quick and one got Stacie and threw her against a wall. Her gun went flying and her head started to spin.

She saw both men beating up Daryl. Her head was going in and out. The hit to the wall was hard and she groaned as she saw Glenn come back.

"That's it! That's the bag!" One guy yelled, looking at Glenn.

"Run Glenn!" Stacie managed to yell as she got up.

Both men were going for Glenn, and grabbed him.

Stacie grabbed Daryl's crossbow and fired an arrow right into one guys ass and he shouted in pain.

A car's engine was heard in the distance as Stacie and Daryl both got up. Daryl snatched his weapon from Stacie, as she picked up her own, both aiming at the two men who now had Glenn.

The car pulled up to the alley way entrance and the two men took a protesting Glenn into their car.

"Fuck! Give him back!" Stacie yelled, firing a few round, but they only hit the walkers trying to get at the guys and car.

The car sped away as Daryl and Stacie got to the alleyway entrance.

"Get back here you sons of bitches!" Daryl yelled as walkers approached. Stacie grabbed the metal door that closed the alleyway from the street shut, to prevent anymore walkers from reaching them.

She took a step back and realized the kid that ruined the plan was behind her.

Her anger was now boiling and the kid was her target.

But before she could even make a move at him, Daryl came from behind her, pushed her, and went to the kid, slamming him against the wall.

"I'm going to kick your nuts up your throat!" Daryl yelled in anger as Rick, Jax, and T-dog came running.

Rick kept Daryl away from the kid as Jax came to check on Stacie.

"What the hell happened?" Jax asked

"He fucking ambushed us! They took Glenn!" Stacie yelled, her gun pointed at the kid.

Rick stood in between her gun and the kid, forcing her to put it down.

"That bastard and his bastard homie friends took Glenn!" Daryl yelled, trying to get at the kid that T-Dog had apprehended.

"Guys, the guns! We gotta go!" T-dog yelled

"Take the guns and get back!" Rick ordered.

Getting back into the room, Jax threw the kid into a corner.

"Those men you were with, we need to know where they took Glenn" Jax said to the kid.

"I aint telling you nothing man" The kid said.

"What the hell happened man?" T-Dog answered. Daryl and Stacie were pacing back and forth, eyes sending daggers to the kid.

"I told you! This little turd and his douche bag friends came out of no where and jumped us!" Daryl said

"You're the ones that jumped me you puto! Screaming about his brother like its my damn fault." The kid snapped back.

"They took Glenn, might have taken Merle too" Daryl said

"Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle" The kid taunted Daryl.

Daryl had enough and went at the kid, but Stacie stepped in and pushed him away. It was the moment she had to grab his arms to push him away when she realized how built he was. His arms were strong as hell, and slightly got her flustered.

"Back off, what are you gonna do, kill him? He's the only one who knows where Glenn is" Stacie reminded.

Daryl gave her a death glare before rummaging through his pack.

"You want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl asked the kid, as he pulled out his brother's cut off hand.

He tossed it at the kid and the kid freaked out so Daryl went to grab him.

"We'll start with the feet this time" Daryl snapped, grabbing the kid's neck. Jax and Rick pulled Daryl off of the kid.

"The men who took our friend, all we want to do is talk to them. See if we can work something out." Rick asked the kid more diplomatically.

After Rick and Jax talked to the kid a bit more, he finally gave up the location and everyone was off to find Glenn.

Once at the location, T-Dog and Jax took the roof to serve as sniper back ups. Stacie wanted to do it badly, but Jax made her keep quiet. He believed it was always better to not let people know of their past jobs before the outbreak occurred.

"You screw up and you'll get an arrow to the ass" Daryl warned the kid.

"Well G will take the arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours" The kid retorted back.

"G?" Stacie asked

"Guillermo. He's the man here" The kid said

"Okay then, lets go see Guillermo" Rick said, loading up his gun. This time she had her shot gun handy and kept the kid right in front of the barrel to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

Everyone walked carefully to the main doors of the rundown building and waited. The doors opened and you counted over 5 inside and one of them stepped out into the light. He was a young, Hispanic man.

"You okay little man?" The man asked the kid.

"They were going to cut off my feet" The kid replied

"Cops do that?"' The guy asked, noticing Rick's sheriff's uniform.

"Not him, the puto there. He cut off some hands man" The kid replied, pointing at Daryl.

"Shut up" Daryl snapped.

"Hey right there! That's the pretty bitch that shot me in the ass!" One guys suddenly said, stepping out from the building. Both men that Daryl and Stacie ran into were there and staring at both of them with such hatred. He had a gun pointed straight at Stacie, but before she could aim hers at him, Daryl aimed his crossbow at the guy.

"Want another one?" Daryl taunted

"Whoa man, just chill" G said

G and Rick went back and forth bargaining Glenn for the kid. But the leader was persistent about having the bags of guns. They even threatened to kill Glenn once they found out Jax and T-dog were aiming at them.

So it was decided to re-group and formulate a different plan.

The plan to just raid the place didn't work out to well. Apparently the place where the guys were at was actually a safe haven for the elderly. They were looking out for the elderly that were left. Rick sympathized with them and offered half of the ammo and weapons. Glenn was handed back and they left everyone go in peace.

"So, Stacie, what's the plan?" Rick asked.

She looked at Jax.

"Lori is back at your camp?" She asked

"And Carl. They'd love to have you and Jax" Rick said.

"I think it's a good idea" Jax said

"Where were you all headed anyway?" T-dog asked

"home, but it's been completely trashed. We are just moving west" Stacie partially lied. She didn't want to give away too much information.

"You guys have great backgrounds that could really help the group out" Rick said.

"What is it that you all used to do?" Glenn asked.

"Military" Jax said with a shrug.

"Ya'll are married or something?" T-dog asked

"No, he's my brother in law" Stacie replied.

"Where's Sarah?" Rick asked, slightly unsure of the answer he was going to get.

"Back out in Cali, we kept in touch about two weeks after the outbreak, but lost contact since then" Jax revealed some more.

"Doubt they're still alive" Daryl finally put his input in.

"Asshole" Stacie muttered under her breath.

The group continued to walk to the van that had brought them to the city, but was missing.

"Oh my god" Glenn groaned.

"Where the hell is our van?" Daryl muttered

"You left it right there! Who the hell would take it?!" Glenn snapped

"Merle" Rick said with disdain.

"He's going to be taking some vengeance back to camp" Daryl replied


	3. Lost Innocence

**No reviews yet. :( I'd love to know what you all think! It's motivation to know people enjoy this story!**

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Traveling by foot was the plan at the point.

"How far would you say it is?" Jax asked Rick. They both were leading in the front. T-dog and Glen were about 10 feet behind them, and about 30 feet behind them were Stacie and Daryl. She didn't know how she got paired up with him, but she just ignored him.

"Pretty handy with a crossbow" Daryl piped up.

She kept her eyes everywhere but Daryl.

"I've used it before, not the best choice" She replied.

"Maybe you just don't know how to use it right" Daryl snapped back.

She laughed at him.

"Reloading that thing kills precious time. I'd rather stick to my automatics" Stacie said patting her gun.

"More precise than your guns" Daryl replied back.

Stacie finally looked at him; he was glaring at her but looked away.

"Why are you so angry all the time?" Stacie teased with a sly smile.

He didn't reply.

"Miss your brother?" She pressed, not knowing too much about this "Merle" guy.

He stopped walking and aimed his crossbow at her.

"Whoa! Calm down!" Stacie yelled, pointing her gun at him.

All four men heard this, turned, around and stared at them.

"You're a little bitch you know that?" Daryl snapped.

"I've been called worse" Stacie fired back, taking the safety off of her gun.

"Stacie! Quit it!" Jax yelled.

Daryl's eyes were glued on her. There was something about her that was getting to him, he actually liked her. Her attitude, her strength, her determination, and all that scared the living shit out of him.

Stacie lowered her gun and put the safety back on.

"Sensitive much?" Stacie retorted, walking away from Daryl and to the group.

Jax had an amused smile on his face as he threw an arm around Stacie.

"I've never seen you so frustrated before" He quietly chuckled.

"Don't make me shoot you in the foot" Stacie warned making him laugh some more.

It was close to 2AM when camp was in the near distance.

However, within a few yards of camp the sounds of screaming, shouting, and horror filled the air.

"Something's wrong" Stacie said as everyone went into a full sprint.

Running up the hill that overlooked the camp, Stacie's eyes witnessed horror. Their camp was being overrun with walkers. Children and women screaming, gun fire, and blood were everywhere.

Everyone pulled their weapons out and began to fire. Stacie's aim was impeccable. Every hit landed into walkers heads.

Rick threw his guns to others and the fight continued. However, the good ones fell along with the bad ones.

"Rick, you need to get everyone out of there!" Jax shouted

Walking closer to the camp, Stacie's hands gun ran out of ammo. She tucked them away and pulled out her trusted, sharp knife and went into close contact combat. Dodging teeth and vicious hands, she was able to stab her blade into the brains of walkers.

All screaming and gunfire came to a halt. All the walkers were dead. Everyone that survived had a look of terror and shock on their face. Carl ran into Rick's arms as Lori looked on.

Stacie's eyes went wide as she realized how many people the camp had lost and she looked to Jax who just shook his head in disappointment.

"Stacie? Jax?" Lori managed to ask in the midst of all the horror.

Stacie looked at her cousin and nodded. Stacie was hoping for a happy reunion, but what she wanted never was what happened.

She ran to you and Jax and pulled them into a hug as she cried.

In the distance Stacie heard a woman crying over a body of a young, blonde woman.

"Oh god, Amy" Lori whispered as tears fell from her eyes.

The woman crying over the fallen girl was in utter emotional pain.

Stacie looked around to see the pain and guilt over everyone's face as they watched this woman cry over her sister.

It was then she realized that she and Jax had walked in on a close knit group. Losing one hurt all of them.

The sun just began to peak through and its light revealed all the carnage the camp had endured.

Jax and Stacie felt a bit out of place.

Some of the campers began burning the walkers, so Jax and Stacie helped out.

"Lori, what are you going to do about her?" Stacie asked, pointing to the woman, still bent over her dead sister.

"Andrea's not going to let her sister go" Lori said with sadness.

"She was bitten, she's going to turn" Stacie replied.

Lori nodded and walked over to Andrea, to try to talk her into letting them take the body.

Jax was sitting on a log next to the Asian kid. A few feet to Stacie's right stood an older looking man, and someone next to him that she sort of remembered.

The older gentleman was looking at Stacie and Jax, curious.

"Family of Grimes?" The older gentleman asked, once Stacie caught his eyes.

"Lori's family. I'm Stacie, and this is my brother-in-law, Jax" Stacie introduced as they both shook his hand.

"Unfortunate time to meet. I'm Dale" He said with a short smile.

They both nodded and their eyes fell on the guy next to him.

"Shane, I remember you two from way back" He said.

"You were Rick's old partner" Jax remembered out loud.

He nodded, his eyes mainly focusing on Stacie. She got a creepy vibe from him, but ignored it as Rick and Lori approached.

"She hasn't left her side yet?" Rick asked, referring to Andrea and her dead sister.

"She's been there all night. What do we do?" Lori asked

"We can't just leave Amy like that. We need to _deal_ with it" Shane said, meaning he wanted to put a bullet through her brain to keep her from turning.

Rick agreed and approached Andrea to tell her, but that didn't go too well. Andrea pointed a gun at Rick and threatened him and everyone if they touched her sister's body.

Daryl came by as Rick returned to the group. Daryl stood there with a long axe in his hand.

"Ya'll can't be serious right now. That girl will hamstring us. The dead girl is a time bomb!" Daryl snapped.

"What do you suggest then?" Rick asked everyone.

"I know I don't have much say in this group, but I suggest you all take the shot. Clean, through the brain, from here. She's going to turn, and when she does her sister will be in more pain than she is in now. Cut it before it starts" Stacie piped up.

Daryl actually agreed with her, and was slightly surprised by her suggestion. He took her as a goodie kind of girl, but he was wrong.

"Exactly, I mean I can hit a turkey between its eyes from this distance" Daryl added.

"No! For God's sake let her be" Lori snapped.

Daryl walked away, annoyed by the group, and left to help get rid of the deceased. Jax went off with him to help as well.

"How could you say such a thing?" Lori snapped at Stacie quietly.

"Lori, I've seen this over a hundred times already. I know you have to. We know how this is going to end" Stacie replied

Rick was about to say something, but a woman began shouting.

"A walker bit Jim!" She yelled. Stacie and the group turned to see a man in the group, Jim, walking away from the woman shouting at him.

Daryl came running up to him with his axe.

"Show it to us!" Daryl demanded, making Jim retreat. He grabbed a shovel to defend himself.

Jax grabbed Jim from the back, and held his arms back as Daryl pulled up his shirt to reveal the bite mark.

Jim kept repeating that he was okay, but Stacie knew all too well that he wasn't.

Everyone backed away from Jim, in slight fear.

"That's two to get rid of" Jax muttered as he put you behind him, away from Jim.

"I say we put a pick axe into his head and the dead girl and be done with it" Daryl said, as the group looked on at Jim, who secluded himself from the group.

"That's what you would want if it were you?" Shane asked Daryl.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you will you did it" Daryl replied

"I hate to say it and never thought I would but Maybe Daryl's right" Dale said

"Jim's not a monster, Dale. He's not some rabid dog" Rick defended.

"I'm not suggesting it,-bu-"

"Where do we draw the line?" Rick cut off.

"Zero tolerance for walkers" Jax said

"What if we can get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure" Rick said

"I doubt it. You saw how bad Atlanta was. Everyone is gone, Rick. And for an outbreak like this? It would take time to get a cure" Stacie said

"What if the CDC is still up and running though?" Rick questioned.

"Man, that is a stretch right there" Shane muttered

"Why? If there was any structure or government at all left, they'd protect the CDC at all costs. I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-"

"You want those things, I do too, okay? If they exist they're at the army base Fort Bennings" Shane said

"That's a hundred miles the opposite direction" Lori said

"That is right and it's away from the hot zone. That place is operational and heavily armed. We'd be safe there" Shane countered.

"The military is complete run down" Jax informed.

"Everything from the headquarters in DC to bases" Stacie added.

"And how exactly do you know?" A woman, with short hair, questioned.

"She's a trained military sniper" Jax answered for Stacie.

"And he's a trained Navy Seal" Stacie said for Jax. They all looked at them both, and found their training to be comforting.

"Fort Bennings is just of a bad idea as the CDC" Jax said

"Our best choice and Jim's only chance is the CDC." Rick said.

"Ya'll go look for your aspirin or whatever. But I'm going to take care of this damn problem" Daryl snapped, running to Jim with his pick axe in hand.

Stacie's instincts were quick and she had her gun out and pointed right at Daryl's temple. If she moved just a centimeter it would be touching his temple. He froze and stared at her with anger.

Rick came up behind Stacie, while Shane put himself in between Jim and Daryl.

"We don't kill the living" Stacie found herself saying to Daryl.

"That's funny coming from someone who just put a gun to my dead" Daryl snapped at her

"We may disagree on some things, but not this" Shane said to Daryl.

"Put the axe down, Daryl" Stacie ordered.

He looked back at her, his eyes showing the hatred for her.

"Now" Stacie ordered. He slammed the pick axe to the ground, and stomped away.

"Rick gets him somewhere safe" Jax said

While they piled up bodies and such, Stacie found herself sitting on a log.

"Auntie Stacie?" A little voice from behind her asked.

She turned around and for the first time in a long time a genuine smile fell on her face.

"Carl, oh my you've grown!" She exclaimed, engulfing him into a hug.

"I missed you. Where's Aunt Sarah? And Maddie?" he asked

"They're back home. Your Uncle Jax and I were looking for them when we ran into your daddy" She explained, as another young girl approached them.

"Auntie, this is Sophia" Carl introduced.

"Hi sweetie, I'm Stacie" Stacie said with a sweet smile as the girl smiled.

"Thank you for helping us" She said with and innocent smile.

_Innocence._

Did ever such a thing exist anymore?


	4. Chance

It was decided that the CDC was the next location to check out. While the men were discussing the plan, Lori and Carol took Stacie down near a little water bed to freshen up.

"Did you bring extra clothes and things?" Carol asked as her as she took her boots off.

"We packed a little, but the DC area got hit hard and fast" Stacie replied

"Once you freshen up, I'll get Jax to come down to freshen up before we go" Lori said. Stacie washed as much dirt and sweat off of her as she could before changing into something cleaner from her pack (check out my polyvore account: MillionMilesAway00 and it's the outfit called Chance)

In about half an hour the group all circled by the vehicles, said goodbye to one group that wanted to go another way, and headed out.

"Hey, I'm gonna ride with Shane" Jax said, walking up to Stacie.

"What? Who am I going to ride with?" Stacie quietly snapped at him.

An amused smile planted on his face. He pointed in a direction. Stacie shoved him aside to see what he was pointing at.

Daryl.

"Are you fucking kidding me? No, I'm riding with Lori!" Stacie snapped

"There's not room with them. You can ride with Dale and Glenn, but that sick guy is in there" Jax said

"T-dog?" Stacie asked

"Andrea is in that one, and I have a feeling you two won't get along" Jax replied

Stacie sighed, grabbed her pack, and stormed off to Daryl as Jax watched with laughter.

"You're not riding with me" Daryl said as he saw Stacie approaching his truck.

"Go fuck yourself" Stacie muttered under her breath as she continued to make her way to his truck. She reached for the door handle and pulled it open, but a strong hand came from behind her and shut the door closed.

"I said you're not riding with me" Daryl snapped as Stacie turned around to face him.

They were standing rather close to each other, making Stacie's cheek slightly flush.

"Hmm, too bad crossbow boy. _I am_." Stacie replied defiantly. She turned around, opened the door once more, but he shut it closed again.

"Seriously Daryl? What is your problem?" Stacie snapped at him, turning around once more to face him.

"My problem? My problem is you! Go find someone else you can grace your stuck up ass presence with" He fired back.

Stacie had enough and she shoved him hard enough for him to take a few steps backward. She then proceeded to open the door and climb into the passengers seat.

Daryl let himself be pushed by her because in all truth he loved how irritated she got with him. It made her sexy and feisty. Daryl couldn't help but notice how toned her body was, how smooth her abs were, and how defined her arms were.

Stacie looked out the window to see Daryl's reaction. He was looking at her, but there was no anger in his eyes. It was a look that she couldn't place, a look that gave her butterflies in he stomach. She quickly looked away and opened up her pack.

Daryl loaded up his truck and hopped into the drivers seat. Everyone was off, following Dale and Glenn to the CDC.

The first hour ride was in complete silence between Stacie and Daryl. To compensate for the silence Stacie pulled out her silencers and began to clean them.

"Who do you got back home?" Daryl finally spoke.

Stacie stopped what she was doing and looked at her gun.

"My sister. Jax's wife" Stacie mumbled.

Those were the only words spoken in the next hour as well.

Daryl tried to sneak quick glances at Stacie, but always knew when someone was watching her.

"I'm a sniper for God's sake! Why do you keep looking at me!" Stacie snapped, finally fed up with him glancing at her.

"What? I wasn't looking at you! You that far into yourself?" He fired back, embarrassed.

Stacie couldn't help but chuckle as his cheeks were slightly flushing.

"You never had a girl in your truck before?" Stacie teased with laughter.

"Go fuck yourself, Stacie!" He fired.

"What? I'm just trying to have some fun. Loosen up cowboy" Stacie kept teasing.

He didn't say anything but instead, kept his gorgeous blue eyes on the road.

Stacie turned around and saw his crossbow in the little back compartment. She un did her seatbelt and sat in her seat backwards to reach for it.

"What the fuck re you doing? Get back in your seat!" Daryl snapped, his eyes going from her to the road then back to her.

"Just keep driving Daryl" Stacie muttered grabbing his crossbow.

"Don't touch it, Stacie!" He yelled, using one hand to grab her arm and yank her to her seat. This caused him to swerve a bit, but kept on the road.

"Daryl, let go of me!" Stacie whined as he kept his hand around her arm to keep her in her seat.

The touch was as cliché as it sounds, electric.

She loved how his hand felt on her arm.

"Put your seatbelt back on" He ordered.

"You're such a bore!" Stacie snapped swatting his arm. In that moment the truck came tot a hard and screeching halt, making Stacie's body move forward. If it wasn't for Daryl's one hand holding her arm, Stacie would have gone flying through the windshield.

She sat back, stunned, at how close they were to almost hitting Andrea and T-Dog's vehicle.

"Told ya to put your seatbelt on" Daryl muttered, letting her go and getting out of the truck with his crossbow.

Stacie inhaled and exhaled deeply before getting out and tucking a silencer in the back of her pants.

Dale's RV had smoke coming out of the front.

"We're not close at all " Jax said.

"I see something up a head. A gas station if we're lucky" Shane said, looking through his binoculars.

"Rick why don't you hold down the fort while Shane , T-dog, and I go see what's up there" Jax said.

Stacie was about to protest feeling a bit hurt by Jax. It had always been her and Jax for the past two months, but now she felt like he was leaving her.

She kept her mouth quiet and just gave him a glare before walking over to Lori, Carol, and the kids.

Jim was getting progressively worse so Rick went to speak with him.

The three men returned with some supplies and things that could repair Dale's RV.

After fixing it up Rick exited the RV revealing that Jim wanted to be left out. It was a hard decision for the group, but they respected his wishes and left him on the side of the road.

The CDC was reached within an hour. Stepping outside, it was a disgusting site to see. Bodies were everywhere, rotting away. It smelled like the earth itself had died. Flies and maggots ate away at the carcasses.

"This doesn't look good" Stacie muttered, pulling her pack, and guns out.

"It never does" Daryl muttered back with his crossbow ready to fire.

The kids were coughing and gagging at the smell as the group looked around in shock.

"Keep moving guys! Stay together" Rick whispered.

The sun was just about to set, and darkness would be upon them soon enough.

Getting to the main entrance, Rick and Shane tried opening the doors. It wouldn't open and Shane began banging on the door.

"There's nobody here." T-dog said

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick snapped back.

Stacie turned around to get a surprise.

"Walkers!" Stacie yelled, aiming her gun at them as everyone turned around in fear.

She shot it in the head.

"We picked the wrong road!" Daryl yelled

"I made the call!" Rick fired back

"It was the wrong call!" Daryl yelled back

"Daryl, shut up! You hear me? Shut up!" Shane snapped at him, pushing him away from Rick.

"Rick, this is a dead end" Jax said

"Where are we going to go?" Carol asked, holding her daughter close.

"We can't be this close to the city after dark!" Lori pressed

"Fort Bennings is still an option, Rick" Shane said

"100 miles in the opposite direction! We barely have fuel to get there!" Andrea said

"Forget Fort Bennings, we need to find shelter now!" Stacie snapped

"We'll think of something" Rick fired back as everyone began to retreat.

"Lori, Carol, keep the kids close!" Stacie said, running behind the women and children.

"Wait! The camera it moved!" Rick said.

"You imagined it! Let's go!" Dale replied

"It's automated, Rick! Come on!" Jax fired

Rick began pounding on the shutters.

"Rick there's nobody here!" Lori yelled at him.

With enough pleading, the shutters finally opened to everyone's surprise.

Someone was alive in there and gave them a chance.

* * *

**Thank you to Allie Cat for the review! It meant a lot so this update is for you! :) Enjoy! Please review guys!**


	5. A Night To Be Forgotten

Entering the CDC, Stacie felt a bit uneasy. Yes, it was a safe building, but at the same time it wasn't. She knew how high government buildings worked, and it didn't make her feel safe.

Everyone piled in cautiously. Stacie kept an eye out for anyone or anything in the upper levels.

_Who let them in?_

"Hello?!" A voice shouted. Everyone turned around to see a man holding a gun aimed at them. Those that had a weapon immediately turned it on the man.

"Anybody infected?" He asked

"One in our group was, but he didn't make it" Rick said

"Why are you here, what do you want?" The guy questioned, stepping a bit closer.

"A chance" Rick replied

"That's asking a lot these days." He replied

"I know" Rick replied, sadly.

The man looked at each one of the group.

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission" He said

"We can do that" Rick replied

The man put his gun down, allowing for Stacie to relax.

"You guys got stuff to bring in, bring it in now. Once this door closes, it stays closed" He said, pointing at the doors behind the group.

T-Dog and Dale kept an eye on the door while Jax, Daryl, Shane, and Rick went to get everything necessary from everyone's vehicle.

Once they came back in the man sealed the door shut.

He eventually introduced himself as Dr. Edwin Jenner, and ushered everyone into an elevator. Though a very large elevator, the 15 people plus their weapons and baggage proved to be a tight squeeze.

Stacie was backed up into Daryl, thanks to Jax's pack.

It got her flushed as she felt her body being pushed against his. It was awkward, yet something about being so close to him was comforting.

For Daryl, the moment Stacie was pushed against him, his heart began to beat a little too fast. Her soft hair and her body against him made him think thoughts and feel feelings that he hadn't felt or thought in a long while. She was messing with his head.

"Doctor's always going around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked, trying to get his mind off of Stacie.

"There was some lying around so I familiarized myself" Jenner replied

After, what seemed like a 5 minute ride, everyone piled out of the elevator and followed Jenner.

Stacie had been to the CDC once, but it was only for a physical. She had never seen any of it except the entrance and a testing room.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked

"You claustrophobic?" Jenner asked with a small smile

"A little" Carol muttered

"Try not to think about it" He replied to her.

Everyone piled into a large room.

"Vi! Bring up the lights in the big room!" Jenner shouted and suddenly all the lights turned on revealing the main observation room at the CDC.

"Welcome to zone 5" Jenner said, walking in.

"Where is everybody? The other doctors? The staff?" Rick asked

Jax and Stacie looked at each other already knowing the sad answer to his question.

"I'm it. It's just me here" Jenner replied with some sadness

"What about the person you were speaking with. Vi?" Lori asked

"She's a computer" Stacie said to Lori

"Exactly. Vi! Say hello to our guests! Tell them welcome." Jenner said loudly.

The system "Vi" repeated what Jenner asked.

"See. I'm the only one here. I'm sorry" Jenner said

Blood was taken from everyone and Jenner then decided to give everyone a good dinner.

For the first time in a long time Stacie heard laughter. Genuine laughter. Everyone sat at a table enjoying food and booze. Stacie sat on a counter next to the table sipping on whiskey. Next to her was Daryl, drinking right out of the bottle, and on her other side was Jax pigging out on a plate of food. Everyone else sat at a table laughing away.

"You know in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner" Dale joked at Lori as he poured her some wine.

"And in France!" Jax piped up.

"Well when Carl is in France or Italy he can have some then" Lori said back.

"Lori, grandpa used to always give us wine when we were younger than him!"Stacie laughed.

"Yeah, what's it gonna hurt? Come on!" Rick agreed with a smile.

Lori finally caved in with some laughter and everyone watched Carl sip on some wine.

He hated it which made everyone laugh.

"That's my boy" Lori chuckled.

"You just stick to your soda pop there kiddo" Shane said

"But not you Glenn!" Daryl exclaimed with a slight tease in his voice.

"What?" Glenn asked as everyone chuckled at him.

"You're drinking little man. I wanna see how red your face can get" Daryl said making everyone laugh. After toasting to Dr. Jenner, Shane ended up killing the night. He made Jenner explain what happened to the CDC, ruining everyone's joyful mood. Eventually Jenner took everyone down to the living area to find rooms and such.

"If you guys shower go easy on the hot water" Jenner said before leaving.

"Hot water, best two words I've heard in a few months" Stacie muttered, finding her own room.

It was a private break room that had a couch, books, a vending machine, a kitchen, and bathroom.

Stacie immediately jumped on the couch and sighed as her body relaxed. It had been a long couple of weeks. She quickly undressed and stepped into a steaming shower. The moment the hot water hit her skin, all tension was released from her body. The feeling of being clean and collected felt good. After spending some time in the shower, Stacie changed into a pair of black yoga shorts, and an oversized off the shoulder sweater. She left her room and wandered around till she found herself in the rec room with Carol, Carl, and Sophia.

"That shower was probably the best shower I've _ever_ had" Stacie said sitting on the ground in between Carl and Sophia, helping them play checkers.

Carol chuckled as Lori walked in with a glass of wine.

"Any good books?" Lori asked, pointing to the bookshelf behind Stacie.

"So much to keep us busy for a year" Carol said

"I'm so excited to sleep tonight" Stacie said

"I know, finally. In a real room" Lori said as Sophia yawned. Stacie chuckled and helped her move a piece to beat Carl.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Carl whined as Stacie and Sophia high fived each other.

"Alright kids, time for bed. This is the first time we're going to get actual sleep" Carol said taking the two kids out of the room.

"You going to bed?" Stacie asked Lori

"I'm gonna go in a bit. I just want to browse" Lori said, looking through the books. Stacie nodded and headed out to her room.

Instead, she left to look for Jax. The place was a maze, and she found herself back near the rec room. This time she heard voices inside that didn't sound right. She heard Lori pleading and what sounded like Shane arguing. Then she heard a scream, a terrified shrill from Lori. Stacie immediately busted into the room to see Shane trying to take advantage of a distraught Lori. Stacie didn't have time to think; instead she used all her strength, grabbed Shane's shirt from behind and tore him off of Lori. At the same time she managed to scratch his neck. Stacie pushed him so that she was in-between both of them. He looked at her in shock and anger.

"Get out now" Stacie snapped at him with anger burring in her eyes.

He was drunk.

"You little bitch. Don't be putting your nose where it shouldn't be" He spat charging at Stacie. She easily got a good jab into his ribs, forcing him to double back.

"You try that again and I'll make sure all your fingers are broken. Now get out before I get _Rick_" Stacie threatened.

He stared at her for a long moment, then to Lori, before leaving.

Stacie sighed and turned to look at Lori. She had tears just falling from her eyes.

"Stacie, I'm sorry" She cried.

"For what Lori? Look I don't know what's going on with you all but to make it easier I'm going to pretend I never saw any of this" Stacie said before walking out of the room.

She needed to find Jax now.

He had to know because he was getting close with Shane.

Stacie ran down the hallway full of room and began knocking on a door that she thought would be Jax's room.

No one was answering.

"Jax!" Stacie said a bit loudly.

She heard some movement coming down the hall so she looked over just in time to see Shane turning the corner and walking her way.

_Oh God…_

"There you are, I've been looking for you" He snapped with hatred flowing through his drunken eyes.

Stacie began to get nervous and pounded on the door.

The door suddenly flung open, and before Stacie could even process who it was she just ran in and shut the door behind her.

"Jesus Christ, what is your problem?!" Daryl's voice snapped.

Her breathing rate slowed down and she finally realized she was in the wrong room. Her cheeks flushed as she noticed that Daryl was shirtless.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I tho-thought this was Jax's room!" Stacie exclaimed, embarrassed as Daryl put a shirt on.

"He's in the one next door, are you okay?" He asked, noticing how jittery she was.

"Um, yeah, I'm just gonna go" Stacie said, opening the door. She poked her head out and looked both ways.

Shane wasn't there.

But before she could leave, Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her back in.

"What happened?" He asked

"Nothing" Stacie lied.

"You were pounding on my door, and just ran in like someone was chasing you. What happened?" He fired.

"Nothing! I was just looking for Jax!" Stacie partially lied.

"Did someone say anything to you?" He asked

Stacie was slightly taken back. Was Daryl showing some sort of emotion to Stacie?

"I'm gonna go" Stacie replied instead, quickly turning to leave.

Daryl watched Stacie go. Someone had done or said something to her that bothered her so much. He didn't like she was being bothered by someone. For some reason he felt that he needed to protect her or stand up for her.

Stacie pounded on the room door beside Daryl's and luckily this time it opened to Jax's face.

His hair was dripping with water.

"Hey, you okay?" Jax asked.

"Hell no" Stacie muttered as Jax let her in.

"what happened?" He asked as he rubbed his hair with a towel.

"I don't like Shane. I don't like how close you're getting with him" Stacie said, folding her arms across her chest.

Jax stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"What did he say to you?" Jax asked

"Nothing, I just don't like him" Stacie replied

"He had to have done or said something to you to get you all riled up. Spit it out Stacie" Jax demanded.

Stacie sighed and sat down on the couch in his room.

"I walked into the rec room to see him trying to take advantage of Lori" Stacie said quietly. Jax's eyes went wide.

"You're being serious right now?" Jax asked

"Don't tell _anyone_. They had something going on between them before Rick came back into the picture I guess" Stacie replied.

"What happened?" Jax pressed.

"I broke it up. He was drunk. Now he's on a drunken rampage. I hope he passed out somewhere" Stacie muttered.

"Is Lori okay?" Jax asked

"yeah, look she doesn't want anyone, especially Rick, to know. I told her that I'm going to forget about it and act like nothing happened. I just wanted to tell you because I need you to keep a distance from Shane" Stacie said getting up.

He nodded.

"He's good man power, but your right. The guy is messed up" Jax said.

"Mind walking me down to my room?" Stacie asked, hoping she wouldn't have to face Shane and if she did she would have Jax.

"Um sure, did he do something to you?" Jax asked, curiously.

She sighed.

"When I was looking for your room he spotted me and was coming at me, but I ran right into Daryl's room. So I don't know. He's probably passed out by now" Stacie shrugged as she opened his door.

"Wait, you were in Daryl's room?" Jax teased quietly, completely ignoring the fact that you were almost beaten up by Shane.

Stacie rolled her eyes as he laughed.

"Wow, even in the middle of an apocalypse you still manage to get into a man's bedroom" He laughed making Stacie push him. Just then Daryl's door opened and he walked out.

"Hey man, what's up?" Jax asked.

"Do you know where he would keep more whiskey? Damn Shane drank it all" Daryl said making Jax chuckle.

"I'll come look with you. I'm in need of another drink" Jax said.

"Haven't you guys had enough?" Stacie piped up.

"No such thing, princess" Daryl teased

"Stacie you drink more than I do" Jax laughed.

"She does? No way. I doubt she could hold much liquor. See the way she was sipping on her whiskey during dinner today?" Daryl snickered back making Stacie roll her eyes as Jax laughed.

"Fine, it's on crossbow cowboy. If I can hold my liquor better than you then I get to use your crossbow for a day" Stacie said to him.

"Oh you're betting now?" He laughed.

"Take or leave it, pussy" Stacie replied with attitude making Jax laugh.

"Fine it's on, princess" He said extending his hand to her.

She took it and firmly shook it.

"I ain't carrying both of you back to your rooms, just for your guys' information" Jax said

"Not both, you'll just carry Daryl back" Stacie laughed as they three walked into the kitchen.

"We never clarified what the loser has to do" Jax said

"Loser has to do whatever the winner tells them do for a day" Daryl suggested.

"Fine" Stacie said with confidence.

"Fine" Daryl replied back with confidence as well.

"Well this is going to be a fun night" Jax muttered, happy that Daryl and Stacie were getting along.

The three of them rummaged through the kitchen. Stacie grabbed a bar stool and stood on it to look in the upper cabinets. As she reached for the back of the cabinet she felt the bar stool shift, causing her to shriek. She looked down to see Daryl holding the chair with a smirk on his face.

"Asshole!" Stacie snapped, trying to use her foot to kick him away.

"Scared you're gonna lose?" He teased, grabbing her foot. She lost her balance with only one foot on the chair and toppled over, but landed gently in Daryl's arms.

"Why don't you let the men do all the hard work and why don't you just go sit and wait" He said, putting her down. He loved having her in his arms, but loved it more to see her angry.

"Wow, you are seriously such a douche bag. Get out of my way" She snapped, pushing him out of the way before crawling back on the stool to reach for the whiskey in the cabinet.

"I found some whiskey!" They heard Jax shout.

"Same here!" Stacie shouted back, getting down.

"Great, more the merrier" Daryl said as Jax and Stacie set both bottles down on the counter. Daryl brought over 3 small glasses.

The first round of shots were poured and taken down.

"She's already buzzed!" Daryl laughed, pointing at Stacie.

"Fuck off Daryl, I'll last way longer than you" She quipped

"I doubt it. Sorry Stacie, but I think I'm on his side" Jax said getting a victory laugh out of Daryl.

"What? You traitor! Second round now!" Stacie exclaimed.

8 shots later and Jax backed out. He was getting sleepy and drunkenly wandered his way back to his room leaving Stacie and Jax in a dimly lit kitchen.

"Okay cowboy, number 9. You still there?" Stacie slurred as she spun around with the now almost empty first bottle.

"Bring it princess. I've got all night. I'm not going anywhere" He laughed, not as drunk as her, but still drunk.

Stacie poured the remainder of the bottle into one glass, and then opened the other bottle to pour some into his.

"Cheers to the first fucking good night in a long night" She toasted with him. They both downed it.

"How you feeling?" Daryl laughed as he watched her twirl around. It was a side of Stacie that no one saw. Whenever she got drunk her inner girl would come out. She would dance, get flirty, and more when she was drunk. Daryl liked it. She was showing a side of her without defenses.

"Like I can shoot every walker on this planet!" She sang, making her hand into a gun and pretending to shoot Daryl.

"Round 10?" He laughed, holding up both glasses. She nodded with a goofy grin and skipped back to him, but on the way she slipped on some spilled whiskey on the floor and landed on the ground hard. Her head had hit the side of the table and she fell with a small cry. Daryl, snapping out of his drunkenness, ran over to her and gently helped her to her feet.

"My head hurts" She slurred, leaning against him.

"That wasn't a pretty fall" He chuckled.

She groaned and rubbed her head. Daryl moved her hands and took a look at it. It was already bruising up.

"You're going to wake up with a shit of a headache. Let's get you to bed" He muttered, picking her up bridal style.

"But what about our whiskey" She moaned making him laugh.

"We'll finish it someday" He assured her.

"You promise?" She asked with a pout, looking up into his blue eyes.

He had a hard time focusing on where he was going. In his arms was a beautiful woman staring at him.

"I promise" He said, getting to her room. He set her to her feet, but still held onto her. She opened the door and he helped her inside.

"You okay?" He asked, gently letting her go.

"Peachy. I think you beat me" She said with a sigh as she tried to keep her balance.

He chuckled.

"Get to bed" he said

She nodded and watched him leave. Something in her told her to make him wait. Something in her wanted to feel his touch again. Something in her was making her brave.

The alcohol?

Most likely….

"Daryl, wait!" She called out, staggering to him. She managed to trip over her drunken feet, but fell into him. Their faces were just inches apart.

"Stacie you need to go to be-"

She cut him off by planting her lips straight onto his.

To her surprise he began to kiss her back. Her hands immediately wrapped around his neck and his went around her waist. The kiss became passionate very quickly and her body began to rise in temperature. But suddenly the close contact she had with him disappeared. He pulled away and looked into her eyes.

She went in for another kiss, but he moved his head. She let him go feeling hurt by his rejection.

"Sleep Stacie. You need sleep" he said quietly, before leaving her as tears began to form in her eyes.

Daryl walked out feeling bad for hurting her like that, but also torn. He didn't want to stop. He loved it. Every moment of it. What he knew though was that she was drunk. In the morning she wouldn't remember, but he would. He didn't want that. He wanted her to remember.


	6. Torn

A pounding headache hit Stacie's head so hard that she thought she would pass out. Staring at the bleak ceiling, she felt exhausted and sick. She didn't want to get out of bed, she didn't want to move, and she didn't want to face the world.

_Damn hangover_.

What was worse was that she couldn't remember a damn thing. The only thing she could remember was her, Jax, and Daryl drinking whiskey, but everything after that was blank. She had drunk too much and must have blacked out. It would take awhile for her memories to come back, and she hated that.

A soft knock was heard so she groaned and forced herself off her cot and went to the door.

"Stacie, its Jax. Open up" She heard him say.

"I'm coming!" Stacie snapped, slowly making her way to the door. She opened it to see him holding a glass of water and two, white pills.

"What's that?" She asked

"Your breakfast. You look like shit" He said, walking into her room.

"I feel like shit" She muttered, closing the door.

"Two aspirin" He said, handing the pills to her and the glass of water. She took the pills and downed the water like it was the only cup of water left on the planet.

"How come you don't look like shit?" She asked him making him chuckle.

"That's because I left. You and Daryl drank two bottles of whiskey. I went to the kitchen this morning to find both bottles empty. I stopped by his room. He's a scary dude when he's hung-over" Jax said making her chuckle.

"I want to just sleep" She said, lying back on her cot.

"No can do. Get dressed and meet in the main room. The doc has something to show us" He said, walking to her door.

"Fine, I'll be there" Stacie said.

Once he left, Stacie freshened up and changed (check out my polyvore account: MillionMilesAway00 and it's the outfit labeled "Torn")

She walked into the main computer room with everyone and Dr. Jenner. She spotted Daryl and gave him a small smile, but he looked away.

_Odd._

Daryl was right. She didn't remember anything from just a few hours prior.

She looked at Daryl confused by his actions, but just ignored it and gave her attention to Dr. Jenner.

"Vi can you give me a play back of TS-19?" He asked.

The computer system showed an enhanced MRI of a patient and the patient's brain. He began to explain what the infection did, and how someone becomes a walker. It was astonishing science, but also heart breaking.

Everyone began to question Jenner about a cure of some sort.

"Somebody must know something, somewhere?" Andrea asked

"There are others right? Other facilities like this?" Carol asked

"There may be some, people like me" Jenner muttered.

"But you don't know? How could you not know?" Rick snapped

"Once this went down so did everything else. Communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month now" Jenner revealed.

"So it's not just here? There's nothing left like this anywhere? That's what you're really saying right?" Stacie asked

He sadly nodded.

"Man I want to get shit faced drunk again" Daryl muttered, rubbing his face as others sighed in hopelessness.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask, but I have one more question. That clock, it's counting down, what happens at zero?" Dale asked Jenner, pointing to a digital clock that was winding down. It was the first time Stacie saw it and something about it got her heart beat racing. Every time she ran into a clock winding down it was always a bomb. She shot a worried glance at Jax who was thinking the same thing.

_They needed to get out of there now!_

"The, um, basement generators they run out of fuel" Jenner muttered. He looked nervous all of a sudden.

Stacie grew weary of the guy at this point.

"And then?"Rick asked Jenner. Jenner didn't reply.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Jax asked loudly.

Vi began to explain what would happen. _Facility wide decontamination_. The moment those words were heard, Stacie's head began to spin.

"Jax, guys, you need to check the backup generators now" Stacie said.

Jax nodded and a few guys left.

"Stacie, what's going on?" Carol asked.

"I don't know but I don't like it. We should all go back to our rooms" Stacie said trying to figure out what Vi meant.

The worst possible thoughts were running through her head, but she didn't want to say them out loud in fear of scaring everyone.

15 minutes later the lights grew dim. The place was shutting down.

Everyone met back in the main room. At the 30 minute mark the place began to beep and Vi announced that decontamination was to begin soon. Jenner suddenly locked everyone in the main room.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Stacie yelled at Jenner in a panic.

"Did you just lock us in here?" Glenn asked Jenner

"Jenner open that door now" Rick snapped

"There's no point. Everything is sealed" Jenner said

"Just open the damn thing!" Dale yelled

"That's not something I can do. The computers run it. I told you, once that front door closes, it stays closed" Jenner said back

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?" Jax fired

He and Stacie knew, but he wanted the rest of the crew to hear it.

He had Vi explain it. The moment Vi began to explain Stacie saw the horror all over everyone's face. The thought of air catching on fire and killing everyone instantaneously had her heart beating a little too fast for comfort.

Daryl ran to the door and smashed a bottle of whiskey at it.

"Open the damn door!"Daryl yelled at Jenner.

"Out of my way!" Shane yelled, running at the door with an ax. Jax tossed one to Daryl and they both began to hit the door.

For the first time, Stacie began to realize that death was just minutes away. And this time there wasn't any exit. She found herself torn. Death at this point could solve the problem. No more worries, no more fending for her life. But at the same time, life was a gift. She was part of the lucky ones who managed to survive. She had to survive.

"you guys should have just left me alone. It would have been easier" Jenner muttered.

"easier for whom?" Lori snapped, holding her son close.

"For all of you!" Jenner replied back.

Stacie's fear was turning into anger. She looked at Jenner and snapped.

She grabbed him by the color and had him against the desk.

"I swear to God that will kill you in the most painful way possible before our time is up if you don't open that door!" She threatened him. He didn't even flinch. The guy had his death signed and sealed. He was ready to die.

She felt Rick grab her and push her off of Jenner.

"This is a favor! Why would you want to be out there and die a brutal death? It's easier this way" He said

"You're fucking psychotic is what you are" Stacie spat, walking away from him before she could actually manage to kill him.

After 5 agonizing minutes Jenner finally released them.

But they were stuck with another block. The windows were all bulletproof. Even Jax's and Stacie's Uzi's could do nothing.

Carol, however, had one of Rick's grenades. She presented it to him, and he looked at it. Stacie was quick. Without a thought, she grabbed it from Carol and ran to the window.

"Everybody stand clear!" She shouted placing the grenade on the ground by the window. Her heart was beating too fast, and her mind was racing.

_Oh shit._

"Stacie you better run your ass back as fast as you can!" She heard Jax shout. She took a breath in and pulled the pin.

"Oh shit!" She screamed as she ran as fast as her legs could take her. She was just a foot away from the group when the explosion went off, sending her flying. She felt her body hit the ground and the world began to spin. Her vision was going in and out. The glass did break, as she felt Daryl help her to her feet.

"Let's go!" Shane yelled, as everyone ran out. Outside, walkers began to approach, hearing the blast. Those that had weapons began to fire and run.

Stacie pulled her gun out and fired as she followed behind Daryl. She was getting dizzy but tried to stay focused.

They all reached their vehicles. Jax made sure Stacie got in Daryl's truck before he ran into Shane's.

"Get down, the place is going to blow" Was the last thing Stacie heard before her mind just shut down.

Daryl hovered over Stacie as the explosion occurred. Once silence filled the air, Daryl sat straight and looked out the window. Smoke and debris was all that was left. He looked over to check on Stacie. She was out cold.

"Stacie" He called out, shaking her arm gently, as slight panic rushed into him.

She stirred.

"Stacie, wake up" He said again, this time gently tapping her cheeks.

She suddenly snapped her eyes open and gasped.

"What happened?" She exclaimed in fright.

"I think you just had a concussion" He figured.

She grabbed her head and rubbed it.

"Did everyone make it out?" She asked

"Jacqui stayed" Daryl said quietly as the engines of the cars ahead of them roared. Daryl himself turned on his truck.

"Oh my god, and Dale and Andrea?" She asked, remembering that Andrea wanted to stay.

"they made it. Are you feeling okay? You took quite a blow after you pulled the grenade" Daryl said.

"I'm fine, is Jax okay?" She asked

"He's fine." Daryl replied. They both sat in silence for a few moments as Daryl drove.

"Are you okay?" Stacie asked Daryl.

He looked at her and then back to the road. How bad he wanted to tell her, and how bad he wanted her to remember. He felt torn. But he couldn't, and he wouldn't.

"I'm fine" He replied quickly.

Stacie knew better. Something was bothering him. Something about her was bothering him. She wondered if it had to do with the night they all got drunk.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Daryl, answer me honestly. Did anything happen last night?" She asked him, looking at him.

He looked at her once again and then back to the road. Stacie anticipated an answer but instead she felt the force of the truck stopping, and the seatbelt holding her back.

* * *

**Once again a HUGE thanks to Allie Cat. The only person to write reviews! I appreciate it! For quicker updates please leave a review!**


	7. Forget and Move On

**Huge thanks to those that left reviews! I really did appreciate it! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story!**

* * *

The truck began to jerk and Stacie heard Daryl curse under his breath as he honked his horn twice. The vehicles in front stopped as Daryl stepped out.

Stacie sat there, still wanting an answer from Daryl. She watched as Jax and Rick approached Daryl. The truck was out of gas, and Stacie watched from the rear view mirror as the three men unloaded Daryl's brother's bike from the bed of the trunk.

"Stacie, you coming or what?" Jax asked her. She broke out of her thoughts and stepped out of the truck.

She looked hesitantly at the bike and Daryl. He wouldn't look at her, he couldn't. She fortunately got on behind him and wrapped her arms around him loosely. In seconds everyone was back on the road. Riding in silence, Stacie was engulfed in her thoughts.

_What happened?_

Daryl wouldn't look at her, speak to her, nothing. After driving an hour out of the city, Dale's RV started to smoke out of the engine. On top of all that, the street was blocked with a bunch of cars and bodies.

Daryl stopped his bike and Stacie quickly got off.

"Is it the radiator hose?" Jax asked Dale.

He nodded.

"I doubt we'll find it here" Shane muttered. Stacie watched as Daryl dug around in a car.

"We'll find plenty of stuff here" Daryl muttered.

"I'll siphon some gas from these cars" T-dog said

"Maybe some water and food too" Carol suggested.

"This is a graveyard. I don't know how I feel about this" Lori said. Everyone looked at each other, but the decision was made.

"Everyone look around and gather what you can" Shane directed.

Stacie pulled out her guns from her pack and armed herself as the rest went to find things.

"You okay?" Jax asked quietly, walking up to her.

"Fine, why?" She questioned

"I've known you for 10 years now. I know that face. I've seen it on Sarah hundreds of times. What's going on?" He asked

She sighed.

"Nothing, I just hate raising hope and then falling" She muttered

He looked at her and knew that wasn't what it was about.

"Why don't you stay on top the RV with Dale and keep a look out" He suggested.

She nodded, grabbed her guns and climbed up on the RV.

She sat there, set up her rifle, and watched.

"I don't like being out here in the open" Dale muttered, as he looked through his binoculars.

"You and me both" She muttered back.

She blinked and in that moment her eye caught something. A walker.

"You see what I see?" She asked Dale. He nodded.

She leaned over the edge of the RV to look at Rick.

"You got the shot?" She asked him.

"Got it" He replied, loading up his gun.

She resumed her spot back and looked through the sniper scope. This time she got the surprise of a life time. A hoard of walkers were heading there way.

"Holy shit, we need to get out of here!" She shrieked as Dale saw what she was looking at.

"Stay flat, Rick get everybody under the cars!" Dale whispered to Rick.

"I gotta go help. Dale you stay up here" Stacie said, quietly making her way back to the ladder.

"You're safer up here!" Dale warned.

"I'm more useful down there" She snapped back before climbing down and running to everyone with Rick.

They warned everyone and she crawled underneath a car with Carl. Beside her, underneath a car, was Sophia, and on the other side was Rick and Jax. Carol and Lori hid together, Glenn and Shane hid together, Dale and Andrea were in the RV, and she had spotted Daryl and T-Dog looking for cover. She held Carl close to her, and kept her eyes on Sophia, who was hiding alone.

As the walkers passed she held Carl tight, her eyes never leaving Sophia's. It was only 2 minutes, but it felt like forever. Silence finally fell upon them, and it seemed to be okay again. She turned her head to look at Jax who nodded, and then back to Sophia, who now was trying to crawl out.

"Sophia, wait!" Stacie whispered. But it was too late a walker spotted her and went after her. She began to cry and run, in the opposite direction, towards the woods. Jax and Rick sprang out from under the car and chased after Sophia and the walkers. Stacie crawled out from under the cars along with everyone else and held Carol as she began to cry by the edge of the road.

"They're after my baby!" Carol cried as Stacie and Lori held her.

The hunt for Sophia was on. Jax, Daryl, and Rick went out looking for her. Stacie and Lori tried to keep Carol sane, and as evening fell the three men returned without Sophia.

"You didn't find Sophia?" Carol asked, in a panic.

"her trail went cold, and its getting dark" Rick said sadly.

"We can't just leave her alone out there for the night" Carol began to cry.

"Tripping around in the dark is going to do no one any good. We'll pick right back up right when daylight hits" Daryl assured her.

"But she's 12! She can't be out there on her own! You didn't find anything?" Carol cried.

"I know this is hard, but you cannot panic. Will find her" Rick said

"We tracked her for awhile" Jax added

"This needs to be organized, Carol. Daryl knows these woods better than anyone." Stacie said to Carol.

She nodded but still couldn't calm down.

That night, everyone took shifts for watch. Currently, Stacie, T-dog, Rick, and Daryl were on watch.

Stacie sat on the edge of the road and he woods, staring out into the see of trees. She mentally prayed for Sophia's safety. She looked around. T-dog was looking in the opposite direction, Rick was walking up and down the road, and Daryl was fixing his crossbow. She figured she could take a peek into the woods and maybe, just maybe find Sophia. She grabbed her flashlight and silencer, and a hunting blade. Zipping up her vest, she quietly jumped over the road barrier and made her way down to the woods. The only thing she could hear was her footsteps, breathing, and crickets. The trees hid any light the moon could give away, so she turned on her flashlight, dimming it just in case she ran into walkers.

Jax had told her earlier about the trail, and she followed it.

Daryl, had been cleaning his crossbow, when he looked up towards Stacie's directing. He felt bad for ignoring her and wanted to talk to her. But his heart sank when he saw she was gone from her post. He ran over and looked around. He saw fresh boot prints leading down to the forest.

"Fuck" He muttered, knowing she went to look for Sophia. He quietly made his way down, now looking for Stacie.

Stacie was almost at the creek when she heard twigs snapping some distance behind her. She quickly hid behind a tree, and pulled out her hunting knife. She closed her eyes, counted in her head, and waited for what she thought was a walker to walk by so she could attack.

The steps were close enough so she jumped from her spot and went to attack, but stopped as Daryl jumped her and tackled her to the ground.

"Jesus Christ, are you out of your mind!?" He snapped, holding her down on the ground.

She exhaled deeply, trying to get her heart beat down.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Get off of me!" She snapped quietly. He got off of her and watched her get up.

"What do you think you're doing? It's fucking dark out, get back up there!" He snapped at her, stepping close to her.

She had nothing to say to him. Nothing. She brushed the dirt off of her, picked up her knife, and began to walk back. However, Daryl grabbed her wrist and forced her to turn around.

"I don't have time to be looking out for anyone right now, so don't be stupid and run off" He fired. She pulled her wrist away from him.

"I didn't ask you to look out for me. Why don't you mind your own damn business" She fired back

"What the hell is your problem?" He snapped

"My problem? You're the one giving me attitude and shit for the past few days! You know Daryl, if you have something to say to me, say it. Something happened between us that I can't fucking remember, but you do. So get it out of the way so we can forget about it and move on!" Stacie replied back in anger.

He just looked at her. She sighed and shook her head and began to walk back again.

"You want to know what happened? We kissed." He finally said. Stacie stopped walking and looked at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stacie asked, feeling embarrassed, angry, and flustered.

"Why? Because then things would change okay? Everyone's lives are fucked up, why complicate it more? Like you said, let's forget about it and move on" He snapped, walking past her and back up to the road.

Stacie watched him. Dare to even think it, but Stacie felt like Daryl was hurt. Did he have feelings for her? Now she wished she didn't press him about it. Maybe it was something that he didn't want to remember, and now he will. Stacie felt confused; confused because she found herself having feelings for him as well.

* * *

Stacie was unable to sleep during her sleep shifts. Her mind kept racing about Daryl. Something about him made her heart feel warm, and she found herself trapped in feelings that she hadn't ever felt before.

Morning crept up quickly and everyone huddled around the hood of Shane's jeep.

Rick unraveled a pack of hunting weapons, like knives, machetes, stakes and such.

"Everybody takes a weapon" Rick informed.

"These are not the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked, defiantly as Lori grabbed a weapon from the pack on the hood of the car.

"Haven't we been over that? Daryl, Rick, Jax, Stacie, and I will be the only ones carrying. We can't have people popping rounds every time a tree rustles" Shane informed.

"It's not the damn trees I'm worried about" Andrea fired back at him.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment and a herd happens to be passing by. See then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it" Shane said to Andrea.

She glared at him but eventually got over it.

"The idea is to take the creek up 5 miles, turn around and come back down on the other side. Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark" Daryl said, leading the group.

Since the morning, Daryl didn't even look at her. He seemed to be avoiding her at all costs.

"Stay quite, but stay sharp. Keep space between each of you, but stay in sight of one another" Jax said before everyone headed out.

Unfortunately, Stacie found herself behind Daryl. Behind her was Rick, and so forth. It was hard to focus when all she could think about was Daryl.

For a good mile, no one spoke, but kept their eyes open. Daryl's pace slowed down and he stopped pointing ahead. There everyone saw a tent about 30 feet ahead.

"She could be in there" Shane muttered.

"There could be a whole bunch of things in here" Daryl replied back, slowly making his way to the tent with his crossbow aimed.

Jax had everyone wait while he, Stacie, Daryl, Rick, and Shane went to check out the tent.

About 10 feet away, Daryl and Jax kept going, while Shane, Rick, and Stacie kept a lookout.

Stacie's heart began to pound as she prepared herself for the worst. Anything could pop out of that tent, _anything_.

Fortunately neither a dead Sophia nor live walkers were in there. It was a dead, decomposing body. Stacie looked back at Carol who had desperation and pain all over her face. She felt for the woman, but was thankful it wasn't Sophia's body in there.

It meant Sophia could still be alive, _somewhere_.

"We should keep moving" Stacie piped up.

Before Rick could agree, a sound of church bells filled the air. Everyone automatically looked up and around, alarmed by the sound.

"Where is that coming from?" Carl asked.

"That way" Jax pointed, in a direction, and everyone took off running to the sound.

2 miles of running, they reached a little white chapel.

"That can't be it" Stacie said

"She's right. No steeples, no bells." Shane said, but Rick began to walk to it, and then run, forcing everyone to follow him.

It was eerie running through a graveyard to get to the church.

Stacie mentally prayed that it was Sophia ringing the bells.

Stacie and Daryl were the first ones to get to the door of the church. For the first time since the night fight, they looked at each other. She quickly pointed to the door, to keep focus, and they both opened the door quietly with their guns aimed.

There sat 3 walkers, turning around to stare at them.

In the center, at the altar, was a statue of Jesus on the cross. Stacie wasn't exactly religious, but grew up going to church. She did the sign of the cross as Shane, Rick, and Daryl went passed her to kill the walkers.

"Sophia!" Jax and Stacie called out loudly.

No reply.

"I'm telling you it's the wrong Church, Rick. There's no steeple!" Shane said to Rick.

The bells suddenly began to ring again. Everyone bolted outside to look for the source of the bells.

To their dismay, it was an automated bell.

"It's a timer. It's on a timer" Daryl said, as Glenn stopped the timer.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit" Carol said, sadly.

The group rested for a while. Stacie looked around and saw Jax sitting under a tree, staring at something in his hands. She made her way over to him.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked him, sitting next to him.

"That's a deep question these days" He said, handing you what he was holding. It was a picture of Sarah and Madison. Her heart sank a little.

"I miss them" he muttered.

"You and I both" Stacie replied back handing the picture back to him.

"We gotta figure out what to do Stacie. We can't stay with them forever. We have our own family back home" He said, rubbing his face.

"We'll figure it out, Jax. Right now we gotta get Sophia back" Stacie said, standing up, as Rick came by.

"Jax, I need to talk to you" He said to Jax. Jax looked up and nodded. She watched as both men walked away from everyone to talk with Shane. She wasn't sure what it was about, but it looked like a heated conversation. Everyone else began to come by Stacie to watch them.

"What's going on?" Carol asked

"Not sure, but we'll find out" Stacie replied as the three men approached everyone.

"Ya'll are gonna follow the creek bed back. Daryl and Stacie you both are in charge. Rick, Jax, and I are gonna hang back and search for another hour just to be thorough" Shane informed.

"You're splitting us up? You're sure?" Daryl asked

"Yeah. Don't worry, we'll catch up to you guys" Jax replied

Carl ended up going with them too.

"Here, Lori, take this" Rick said to Lori, handing her his gun.

"I'm not taking it and leave you unarmed" Lori said

"I've got a spare" Daryl said, handing his gun to Lori. Andrea wasn't too pleased about it and it was written all over her face.


	8. Here & Now

While making the trip back a sound rang through the air, like a gunshot.

Everyone froze.

"We should go find them" Lori said, worried.

"They'll be okay. Just probably hit a walker" Daryl said.

That didn't comfort her.

"Lori, its better if we keep moving" Stacie said softly. She nodded and followed along, but another mile she stopped.

"You're still worried?" Andrea asked, slightly annoyed.

"It was a gunshot" Lori said

"We all heard it" Daryl said

"But why just one gun shot?" She questioned

"One walker, one hit' Stacie said

"You know Rick wouldn't waste a bullet to put down one walker" Lori snapped. She was really worried.

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now, anyway?" Carol asked

"There's nothing we can do about it. Running around these woods will do more harm than good" Daryl said

"So what do we do?" Lori asked, looking at Stacie.

"Same as always. Look for Sophia, make our way back up the creek and to the highway" She said, confidently.

Another mile of searching for Sophia continued, but the sun was slowing going down.

"I think we should head back" Stacie informed.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asked

"Yeah we'll find her tomorrow" Stacie replied.

"Let's go" Daryl said, leading the pack.

Stacie stayed a few feet behind to cover the back. Walking alone, she drowned herself in her thoughts about Daryl again. She was so lost in thought that a walker began to walk up behind her. She lightly tripped on a fallen branch, causing her to drop her gun. She groaned picked it up, but as soon as she got up the walker reached for her and she felt a slimy hand grab her shoulder.

Stacie never got scared easily, but she was caught so off guard, and unprepared. A scream, a murderous scream erupted from her as the walker tried to grab her. Her gun flew out of her hand in a panic as she kicked the walker. She stumbled backwards as it kept approaching her.

Daryl was walking at a good pace when he heard it. His heart froze as he heard the scream from behind him echoing through the forest.

"Stacie?!" Lori shrieked as they all turned around. Daryl was already running towards the screams. His heart beat was beating too fast and he feared the worst.

_How could he let her out of his sight?_

Stacie scrambled for her gun, but it was too far. For some reason her brain couldn't function properly. She was in shock and couldn't pull herself together. The walker had her scooting away.

_Was this it? Was death this close?_

The walker snarled at her and grabbed her feet, making her scream and tried to kick away. She was going to die, she thought.

Fortunately, and oddly, out of nowhere she heard horse footsteps. A woman riding a horse came out of nowhere. Stacie watched as the woman smashed the walker in the head with a baseball bat. Stacie's world was spinning and she was unsure of what was going on. Her breathing was heavy and her head began to pound. She still had no clue what just happened. She watched as the woman on the horse say something to Lori, Lori getting on the horse, and they both riding away.

"Wait, what? Lori?!" Stacie managed to call out as she tried to catch her breath.

The walker beside her suddenly sat up in a groan, causing Stacie to shriek. However, and arrow, from Daryl, killed the walker.

She sighed in relief.

"Stacie, are you okay?" Glenn asked as he, Carol, Andrea and Daryl approached her.

"Never been better" Stacie muttered

Daryl didn't say anything to her. Instead he gently grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet.

It was the first kind gesture she had seen from him in long while.

"Stay close, otherwise you won't be so lucky next time" He snapped at her, making her regret the thought about the kind gesture.

They explained who and what the woman wanted with Lori.

Getting back to the RV, Daryl explained what happened to T-Dog and Dale. It was already dark at this point. They had to wait till morning before making any moves.

Everyone stayed in the RV, either on top or inside. Not wanting to be near Daryl, Stacie sat on top of the RV with Dale.

"Heard you ran into a walker" Dale said to Stacie.

"It surprised me" Stacie muttered, wrapping herself in a blanket.

"Perfect timing with the horse lady" Dale said making Stacie nod.

"I hope they're okay. I hope Carl's okay" Stacie said as he agreed. The RV door opened and Stacie peered over to see Daryl walking out with a flashlight and his crossbow.

"Where are you going?" Dale asked him.

"Walk the road, look for the little girl" Daryl muttered,

"In the dark? That's not safe" Dale said

"It's never safe anytime of day" Daryl muttered back.

Stacie looked at Daryl. He couldn't go alone.

"Hold on, I'm coming too" Stacie said, grabbing her guns, and flashlight. Daryl looked at her but didn't say anything. He watched her climb down the RV and past him.

For a good five minute, neither of them spoke to each other.

Stacie was getting tired of the tension in the air.

"Daryl, wait" She said, stopping. He turned to look at her, thinking something was wrong.

"What?" He asked.

She sighed.

"I want to apologize" She said

"For what?" He questioned, with apprehensiveness.

"I don't know, for whatever I did that's bothering you" Stacie said

"Here we go again, listen, just forget about it" he snapped.

"Forget about it? You won't even look at me! You can't forget about it so how can I?" She snapped back.

He rubbed his forehead.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked

She shrugged.

"Clearly what happened between us has you bothered, and it has me bothered. Why can't we talk about it?" She asked

"What's there to say, Stacie? We kissed" He said

"And that's it? You're telling me, that's all it was? Just a kiss. No strings attached?" She asked.

He looked at her for a moment, and stepped closer to her. That's when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

"You want the truth? Here's the truth. I'd love to just live that memory over and over again…but right now, right here, it isn't the right time" He said softly.

She nodded and wiped away the tears before they could fall.

"So you're saying there won't ever be a time for us" She clarified.

He sighed, and looked away.

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know" Stacie muttered, walking past him. But he grabbed her arm, and pulled her right into his so that they're faces were just centimeters apart.

"Screw time" He muttered before planting his lips on hers.

And the kiss was euphoric, magical, and passionate. Kissing Daryl in the middle of a dark forest somehow was blissful. His hands cupped her face as she gripped his shirt. Their tongues danced until both of them separated for air. He rested his forehead against hers.

"You realize things are going to change?" He asked softly.

"I'm okay with that" She replied back, as he looked into her eyes. He had feelings that were new to him, feelings that scared him. But it was okay, because it was all for her. Stacie's heart finally felt at rest. It suddenly felt complete, and put back together. She couldn't help but smile knowing Daryl was hers, and she was his.

"We should keep moving" He suggested as they looked around. She nodded and then kept walking together.

"You really think we're going to find Sophia?" She asked Daryl.

He flashed his light at her face, causing her to look away from the brightness.

He scoffed and shook his head.

"You got that look on your face. Same as everybody else. What the hell is wrong with you all? We only just started looking" Daryl said

"You didn't answer my question. Do you?" Stacie asked again

"It ain't the mountains. It's Georgia. She can probably hold off in a farm house somewhere. People get lost and survive. It happens all the time" Daryl said

"She's only twelve" Stacie reminded.

"Hell I was younger than her and I got lost. 9 days in the woods, eating berries and wiping my ass with poison oak" Daryl shared.

"They found you or something?" Stacie asked

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvi; he didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. I wasn't worse for wear, except my ass itched something awful." Daryl replied

Stacie couldn't help but laugh. He looked at her, making her laugh some more.

"Sorry, that is an absolutely terrible story" She chuckled, eventually getting a laugh out of him.

"The only difference is Sophia has got people looking for her. I call that an advantage" Daryl said

"She's probably scared out of her mind right now" Stacie muttered, looking around. She suddenly lost her footing and tripped. Luckily for her, Daryl's strong arm caught her and helped her stand straight.

"You a klutz or what?" He teased making her roll her eyes at him. He chuckled, but the smile disappeared when some trees rustled in the distance. Both of them immediately pointed their weapons in that direction.

They slowly walked towards the sound, and walked upon a small, abandoned campsite with a tent and some other supplies.

The tree near it was rustling.

Both Stacie and Daryl pointed their flashlights up at the tree to see a walker hanging from it. It spotted them and began to groan and growl for them.

"What the hell…"Daryl muttered, walking closer to it. Stacie stared up at it, her stomach starting to turn.

"What's that note on the tree say?" Stacie asked Daryl, trying to keep herself from throwing up.

"Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit. Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. He just turned himself into a big swinging piece of bait." He said.

Stacie felt herself about to heave. She turned around and groaned.

"You okay?" Daryl asked.

"Trying not to puke. Let's get out of here" She muttered. The walker's groans and moans were making her feel even more sick.

"If you gotta let it out, let it out" Daryl suggested.

"No, let's just talk about something else, please. How did you learn to shoot?" She said, rubbing her head, trying to change the subject.

"Gotta eat. It's one thing that we and these walkers have in common. We're the closest he's been to food since he turned. Look at him, hanging up there like a big piñata." Daryl said. Stacie shook her head.

"Look at his legs. The other geeks came and ate the flesh off of them" Daryl added. That was it for Stacie. She felt the bile rising and the next thing she knew she puked a bit.

"I thought we were changing the subject!" Stacie snapped at Daryl, who had an amused smile on his face.

"I call that payback for laughing about my itchy ass" He teased making her scoff.

"There wasn't a lot that came up" She muttered back.

"Let's head back" Daryl said, walking past her.

"Wait, aren't ya gonna kill him?" Stacie asked her, pointing her flash light at the walker.

"Nah, he aint hurting nobody. I'm not wasting an arrow either. He made his choice, let him hang" Daryl said

"Daryl, come on, just put him out of his misery" Stacie said.

He shook his head.

"I'll do it then" Stacie muttered, pulling out her gun.

"Don't, it will be too loud." Daryl warned

"Then you better use an arrow" She warned right back.

"You're a stubborn little bitch aren't ya?" He asked making her laugh.

"Unless you want me to call you a pussy, put an arrow through his head" She said back to him.

He laughed and put an arrow into his crossbow.

"This one is for you princess" He said, before shooting the walker in the head.

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**Please leave your thoughts in the reviews! :)**


	9. My Girl

That morning everyone headed on the road to the ranch that Rick and the rest were at. Sitting on the back of Daryl's bike, Stacie gripped her arms around his midsection tight. She felt at ease, and happy.

It took about an hour to get to the ranch, and everyone met the rest of the group outside of the house.

"How is he, Lori?" Stacie immediately asked Lori as she got off the bike.

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people" She said with a smile, pointing at the people who must have owned the property.

"And Shane. We would have lost Carl if not for him" Rick added

Stacie smiled and went into to hug Lori tight.

"What happened?" Stacie asked, hugging Jax.

"Hunting accident. That's all. Just a stupid accident" Jax replied as Rick nodded.

"Not so much of a happy ending though" Shane muttered. Everyone looked at him. Rick explained how while Shane and Otis, the guy who accidently shot Carl, went to get a respirator, Otis had been killed by walkers. So once everyone settled down Hershel and his family along with the group held a funeral for Otis.

After that Stacie went to check on Carl, while some of the group figured out a plan to find Sophia.

"Hey bud" Stacie said sweetly as she entered the bedroom where he lay.

"Hi, Stacie" He said with a weak smile.

"You feel better?"She asked, kneeling on the ground beside him.

He nodded.

"Have you ever been shot before?" He asked her.

She chuckled and nodded.

"I have, and you know what. It was in the same exact spot as you" She said.

"Really? It hurt real bad" He said.

"I know, and I had to rest for a long while, so you're gonna have to rest okay?" She said to him, gently pushing some of his matted hair off his forehead.

"Are you going to find Sophia?" He asked.

"I am, and I want you to be better by the time we find her, okay?" Stacie said.

He nodded.

"I love you, and I'll be back" Stacie said before leaving him to rest.

"Stacie!" Jax called out, from down the hallway. She turned to look at him.

"What's up?" She asked

"Daryl's going off on his own to look for Sophia. I think you should go with him" He said

"I thought the search was gonna start tomorrow morning" She said

"You know how he is? I would go, but we gotta a situation down at one of the wells" He said

"What happened?" She asked

"Walker is in it all bloated and shit. Go with Daryl" He said.

She nodded and grabbed her guns and hunting knife.

She spotted him walking towards the forest.

"Daryl!" She called out.

He stopped and looked at her.

"If you're telling me to wait till tomorrow you're wasting your time" He said

"I'm coming with you" Stacie replied, walking past him.

He couldn't help but let a little smile out.

"The longer we wait, the more danger she's in" Stacie said.

"Tell that to everyone else" He replied as they ducked underneath some branches.

They made it to an open field, and in the center was an old, empty house.

"Think she's in there?" She asked.

"Might as well look." He said.

He took his crossbow off his shoulder and got it ready as Stacie pulled out one of her silencers.

They both made their way closer to the house. Stacie kicked the door open they both entered, weapons drawn, and walked in cautiously.

The floors creaked as they checked rooms. Stacie's heart was pounding. She had been on so many missions like this, but at the same time, it was completely different. It was amazing to see how much had changed. Having a gun aimed at her didn't scare her anymore. Having a walker anywhere near her scared the living shit out of her.

Walking into the kitchen quietly, Stacie saw Daryl pick something out of the trash.

"Its all clear everywhere" Stacie said quietly.

"She was here" Daryl said, tossing the empty can of food in the trash.

Stacie's heart dropped.

Daryl pointed behind her and she turned around to see the pantry. She aimed her gun at it and slowly opened it.

Instead of a walker, Stacie saw a little makeshift bed on the ground.

"Oh my god, she was here" Stacie whispered in sadness.

"So fucking close" Daryl muttered, in anger, as he walked out of the house.

Stacie sighed and followed him out.

"Sophia!" He shouted outside. Stacie slightly cringed. He would attract walkers.

"Daryl, I don't think she's here anymore" Stacie said to him.

He looked at her and nodded. He then looked passed her, and walked right passed her. She turned around to see him walking straight to a white flower and picking it.

"What's that?" She asked.

"A Cherokee Rose" He said, handing her one and saving one.

She smiled at it.

"Some bit of hope for Carol" Daryl said.

She smiled at him.

"You're doing the best you can for her, you know that right?"Stacie said.

He didn't say anything but kept walking back.

Back at the house Stacie checked up on Carl one more time before setting up her tent outside.

She hadn't seen Daryl since their excursion to find Sophia, but then saw him walking into the RV with the rose in a beer bottle. A soft smile fell upon Stacie's lips as she realized he was going to give it to Carol.

"Hey you, how was it out there?" Jax's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned around to look at him.

"We found some blankets and eaten food in an old house just a few miles out of here. She was definitely there" She said quietly to him as he set up his tent next to hers.

"Damn, we're so close" He muttered as Stacie nodded.

She turned back to see Daryl walking out of the RV.

"Other than that, you two getting along?" Jax asked, making her look at him again.

He had an amused smile on his face.

"Yes" She replied quickly.

"Good, that's good" He chuckled making her glare at him.

The following morning Stacie woke up early with Carol to collect laundry from everyone.

She headed over to Daryl's little tent.

"Daryl!" She whispered loudly, wondering if he was still asleep.

There was no response. She softly began to peel the entrance back and poke her head in. He was still asleep. She couldn't help but lightly laugh at the site. He had his crossbow in his hand, even when he slept.

She picked up some pebbles from outside and went back into his tent. She tossed them onto his face.

He still snored away.

A little harder, and he began to stir. She finally chucked a pebble at his face and he shot up with his crossbow nearly smacking her in the face.

"Jesus Christ, Daryl!" Stacie snapped, falling backwards.

"What are you doing in here?!" He fired back.

"Collecting laundry. Get your lazy ass up" She said to him with a smirk.

He put his crossbow down and rubbed his face.

"Some good morning" he muttered.

She rolled her eyes and threw the rest of the pebbles at him before getting out.

"My laundry is out by the log" She heard him say. She looked over to see some clothes lying around by his tent. She picked it up and went to others to get their laundry and began to help Carol out.

Lori eventually came by and started to help out. Carol suggested that they prepare dinner for Hershel and his family since they took care of Carl. Lori and Stacie agreed. Stacie lost track of time while talking to the two women. She didn't realize she was left out in the search party for Sophia.

"Stacie!" Jax's voice shouted. She looked to see him walking from where Hershel was towards her.

"Hey, you guys are back soon" She said

"Where's Daryl?"He asked, ignoring her last statement.

"Um, I thought he was with you guys. Why are you asking me? Where is he?" She asked, getting a bit frantic.

"Dammit" he sighed.

"What?" She fired.

"One of Hershel's horses is missing. Daryl must have gone on his own with it. I told him to wait for me, but he didn't" Jax said.

"So he's out there alone, and hasn't returned yet? Jax, what if something happened?!" She exclaimed

"He'll be fine, it's Daryl" He said.

She sighed.

"I don't know Jax. I'm worried now" Stacie said.

"I'll go talk to Rick, see what he thinks" Jax said.

She nodded.

She watched him walk off to Rick before heading inside to help dinner.

All throughout she couldn't keep her mind off of Daryl.

Who knew if he was still alive?

"Hey, Stacie, could you do me a favor and go check on Carl?" Lori asked, while she sliced some potatoes.

Stacie nodded, grabbed some water for him, and headed to his room.

"Hey kiddo, how are you doing?" She asked sweetly, as he rubbed his eyes.

"Bored" He said making her laugh.

"I like your honesty. Here, drink up" She said, helping him sit up to drink water.

She watched him chug down the whole glass.

"You're looking better bud" Stacie said, sitting on his bed.

"I'm feeling better" He replied.

"That's good. We need you back in tip top shape!" She said cheerfully as she messed his hair. He smiled.

"Is everyone looking for Sophia?"He asked, making her smile fall a bit.

"They're doing the best they can" She replied.

He nodded.

"I miss her" He said.

She looked at him and her heart broke.

"We all do, honey. But how about we tell her that when we get her back?" She suggested trying to lighten the mood again. He nodded.

She was about to say something, but she suddenly heard a bunch of commotion in the house and down the hall from her and Carl. A door slammed, and things suddenly went quiet.

"What was that?" Carl asked.

"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out. Your momma is gonna come check on you okay?" She said, tucking him back in.

"Thank you Aunty" He said.

"No problem kiddo" She replied before leaving.

Stepping out she saw Lori sitting across a closed door.

"Lori, what just happened?" Stacie asked, cautiously, as she walked over.

She stood up and Stacie saw the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Um, uh, Daryl, he-he he was shot at" She stammered out. Stacie's eyes almost flew out of their sockets.

"What the fuck?! By who!? Where is he?" Stacie snapped, going to the closed door. Lori stopped her.

"Hershel's in there with Shane, Rick, and Jax. He's been slightly injured." Lori said

"What happened?" Stacie asked in disbelief

"The horse threw him over and he fell down a cliff. An arrow got lodged into his side, and on his hike back Andrea thought he was a walker" She said

"So she shot him?! That bitch, I'm gonna ki-"

"Stacie! The bullet just grazed his head. He'll be okay" Lori said, trying to calm Stacie's rage down.

Daryl could hear everything going on outside the door. As the three men were talking about Sophia and where he found the doll, and as Hershel tended to his stitches, Daryl kept an ear open. He heard Stacie and Lori talking. Lori broke the news to Stacie, and he listened with a slight amusement as Stacie became irate and angry. She as worried about him and that made him feel _wanted_. A feeling he hadn't experienced too often in his life.

"I'm gonna go see Carl, just calm down and wait. Okay?" Lori said, rubbing Stacie's shoulders.

Stacie rubbed her face and nodded. She took Lori's spot on the ground and waited for the men to finish up.

5 minutes later Rick, Shane, and Jax walked out as Stacie stood up.

"How is he?" She asked Jax, the last one out.

"He's fine" Jax assured before Stacie walked in.

"You on a suicide mission or what?" Stacie snapped at Daryl. He hadn't known she walked in and he turned his head to look at her. Hershel just finished stitching him up and pulled the blanket over Daryl's chest.

"Damn horse kicked me off" Daryl muttered.

"That's what you get for taking Hershel's horse without asking" Stacie replied back.

"He took Nervous Nelly at that too. Do me a favor and clean his head and wrap it up. The bullet just grazed some layers of his temple" Hershel said to Stacie handing her a washcloth and some gauze.

She nodded and watched him leave with the door closed.

"Why did you go alone, Daryl?"Stacie asked, dipping the washcloth in some water.

She gently climbed on the bed and cradled his head in her hands. Daryl looked exhausted.

"I've done it plenty of times before" He said as she began to wipe his head.

"I hope you learned your lesson this time" She said making him chuckle, but then groan because of the pain.

Daryl couldn't really concentrate. He was tired, but at the same time Stacie's soft hands were all over his face and head. She was hovering over him and her sweet smell was driving him wild. He almost would ignore his stitches just to grab her and kiss her right then and there.

"I can't believe Andrea shot you, or at least tried to" Stacie managed to laugh.

"Bitch is lucky she sucks at aiming" He said making her laugh some more.

"I'll give her a piece of my mind" Stacie assured.

"That's my girl" he muttered. Stacie's hands stopped what they were doing.

_What did he just say?_

She looked at him and into his blue eyes.

"What?" He asked, as if what he said was not abnormal.

She just shook her head and smiled proudly as she began to wrap his head wound.

"There, you're all good. Get some rest" She said, pushing some of his matted hair out of the way.

"Thank you" He muttered quietly. She gave him a gentle smile, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. Instead of pulling away, she leaned over by his ear.

"You try that again, I'll be the one to shoot you, and I don't miss" She whispered slyly. She slowly pulled away to see a smirk forming on his face.

"I'm gonna go down to help out. I'll come check on you later" Stacie promised as she scooted off the bed.

"What that's it? Just the cheek?" He teased.

She laughed and crawled back over to him.

"I don't want you to pop your stitches" She teased back, her lips dangerously close to his.

He didn't respond, instead he pulled her head till their lips crashed.

He didn't care if it hurt; all he cared was for her. They were hungry for one another, and if it weren't for his stitches he was sure they would have had "fun".

She pulled away and gave him another kiss on the cheek.

"That should be enough for now" She said with a beautiful smile. He watched her leave and closed his eyes. Rest fell upon him quickly, and for the first time he realized what it mean to be taken care of.

She made her way downstairs to the kitchen to see everyone gathering around to eat dinner.

"You look slap happy" Jax said quietly to her.

"I just might be" She said back making him quietly chuckle.

"I don't want to even know what went on up there" He said, referring to her being in the same room as Daryl.

"Get your mind out of the gutter" She replied back as everyone sat at the table.

The dinner was kind of awkward. No one spoke much. Glances were given, but other than that, it was just plain awkward.

After dinner, Stacie helped clean up and collect dishes.

"Stacie, do you think Daryl would want some?" Carol asked Stacie in the kitchen.

She looked at her and shrugged.

"Probably. I mean, you can ask him yourself" Stacie said, wondering why Carol needed to ask her if Daryl was hungry.

"Oh okay, I just wasn't sure. I just don't want to seem like I'm intruding" She began to ramble.

"Intruding? I don't care, I'm sure he's hungry" Stacie said with a shrug.

Did people notice there was something going on between them two?

* * *

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